Psalm 18 and Mark Every Reference to the LORD, Including Pronouns and Synonyms, with a Red Triangle
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PSALMS - The SONGS Eighteen Gratitude to the LORD for Victory Over Enemies! READ AND OBSERVE Read through Psalm 18 and mark every reference to the LORD, including pronouns and synonyms, with a red triangle. Read through Psalm 18 and mark every reference to the psalmist, along with all pronouns and synonyms, with a blue capital “R+”. Read through Psalm 18 and mark every reference to enemies, along with all pronouns and synonyms, by using an orange capital “W”. Read through Psalm 18 and mark every reference to deliverance or salvation, along with all pronouns and synonyms, with a purple box filled in with pink. Read through Psalm 18 and underline every reference to blameless with green. Read through Psalm 18 and mark every contrast with a pink diagonal line. Read through Psalm 18 and mark every term of conclusion with a pink capital “T”. Read through Psalm 18 and divide the passage into the following segments. Mark and title these segments in your text using brackets in the margin. 1. The LORD is my rock. I love Him. 2. The LORD heard when I cried to Him. 3. The LORD was angry and shook the earth. 4. The LORD delivered me. 5. The LORD rewarded me according to my righteousness. 6. The LORD saves the afflicted and abases the haughty. 7. The LORD makes His way—my way (blameless). 8. The LORD makes me destroy my enemies. PSALMS - The SONGS Copyright © 2015 Caleb and Sharon Jensen - WORDCenterMinistries.org 1 9. The LORD makes me head over nations. 10. The LORD saves me. I praise Him. READ AND ANSWER Psalm 18:1-3 Who wrote this Psalm? Point of Depth The inscriptions at the beginning of certain Psalms give us traditional information, but not inspired information. (They were not part of the original autographs.) Therefore, we need to hold the information stated fairly loosely in our hands. However, this time we can know for sure who wrote this Psalm. How? Are we to trust the inscription as inspired? No. We must only trust the original text taken from the autographs, which does not include the inscriptions of the Psalms. However… If you will take a look at 2 Samuel 22 you will notice two things right off the bat. First, its words are extremely similar (although not exact) to Psalm 18. And second, the words of the inscription of Psalm 18 are almost identical to the words of verse 1 in 2 Samuel 22. Psalm 18 inscription: “For the choir director. A Psalm of David the servant of the LORD, who spoke to the LORD the words of this song in the day that the LORD delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul. And he said,” 2 Samuel 22:1 And David spoke the words of this song to the LORD in the day that the LORD delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul. PSALMS - The SONGS Copyright © 2015 Caleb and Sharon Jensen - WORDCenterMinistries.org 2 What does this mean? It means we can know that 2 Samuel 22:1 is inspired— its words are truth. Therefore, because the entire chapter is obviously the same as Psalm 18, we can know that the inscription of Psalm 18 holds true information for us. Whatever is the same as 2 Samuel 22:1 can be embraced as truth. We can know who wrote this Psalm— David. We can know when and why he wrote it— in the day that the LORD delivered him from the hand of all his enemies. We can know who David’s enemy was— Saul. Although it is not our purpose to compare these two chapters, it would be beneficial to take time to read 2 Samuel 22 below. 2 Samuel 22 He said, “The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer; My God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold and my refuge; My savior, You save me from violence. I call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised, And I am saved from my enemies. For the waves of death encompassed me; The torrents of destruction overwhelmed me; The cords of Sheol surrounded me; The snares of death confronted me. In my distress I called upon the LORD, Yes, I cried to my God; And from His temple He heard my voice, And my cry for help came into His ears. Then the earth shook and quaked, The foundations of heaven were trembling And were shaken, because He was angry. Smoke went up out of His nostrils, Fire from His mouth devoured; Coals were kindled by it. He bowed the heavens also, and came down with thick darkness under His feet. And He rode on a cherub and flew; And He appeared on the wings of the wind. And He made darkness canopies around Him, PSALMS - The SONGS Copyright © 2015 Caleb and Sharon Jensen - WORDCenterMinistries.org 3 A mass of waters, thick clouds of the sky. From the brightness before Him coals of fire were kindled. The LORD thundered from heaven, And the Most High uttered His voice. And He sent out arrows, and scattered them, Lightning, and routed them. Then the channels of the sea appeared, The foundations of the world were laid bare by the rebuke of the LORD, At the blast of the breath of His nostrils. He sent from on high, He took me; He drew me out of many waters. He delivered me from my strong enemy, From those who hated me, for they were too strong for me. They confronted me in the day of my calamity, But the LORD was my support. He also brought me forth into a broad place; He rescued me, because He delighted in me. The LORD has rewarded me according to my righteousness; According to the cleanness of my hands He has recompensed me. For I have kept the ways of the LORD, And have not acted wickedly against my God. For all His ordinances were before me, And as for His statutes, I did not depart from them. I was also blameless toward Him, And I kept myself from my iniquity. Therefore the LORD has recompensed me according to my righteousness, According to my cleanness before His eyes. With the kind You show Yourself kind, With the blameless You show Yourself blameless; With the pure You show Yourself pure, And with the perverted You show Yourself astute. And You save an afflicted people; But Your eyes are on the haughty whom You abase. For You are my lamp, O LORD; And the LORD illumines my darkness. For by You I can run upon a troop; By my God I can leap over a wall. As for God, His way is blameless; The word of the LORD is tested; He is a shield to all who take refuge in Him. For who is God, besides the LORD? And who is a rock, besides our God? PSALMS - The SONGS Copyright © 2015 Caleb and Sharon Jensen - WORDCenterMinistries.org 4 God is my strong fortress; And He sets the blameless in His way. He makes my feet like hinds’ feet, And sets me on my high places. He trains my hands for battle, So that my arms can bend a bow of bronze. You have also given me the shield of Your salvation, And Your help makes me great. You enlarge my steps under me, And my feet have not slipped. I pursued my enemies and destroyed them, And I did not turn back until they were consumed. And I have devoured them and shattered them, so that they did not rise; And they fell under my feet. For You have girded me with strength for battle; You have subdued under me those who rose up against me. You have also made my enemies turn their backs to me, And I destroyed those who hated me. They looked, but there was none to save; Even to the LORD, but He did not answer them. Then I pulverized them as the dust of the earth; I crushed and stamped them as the mire of the streets. You have also delivered me from the contentions of my people; You have kept me as head of the nations; A people whom I have not known serve me. Foreigners pretend obedience to me; As soon as they hear, they obey me. Foreigners lose heart, and come trembling out of their fortresses. The LORD lives, and blessed be my rock; And exalted be God, the rock of my salvation, The God who executes vengeance for me, And brings down peoples under me, Who also brings me out from my enemies; You even lift me above those who rise up against me; You rescue me from the violent man. Therefore I will give thanks to You, O LORD, among the nations, And I will sing praises to Your name. He is a tower of deliverance to His king, And shows lovingkindness to His anointed, To David and his descendants forever.” PSALMS - The SONGS Copyright © 2015 Caleb and Sharon Jensen - WORDCenterMinistries.org 5 When did David write this Psalm? Why did David write this Psalm? With what wonderfully emotional sentiment does David begin this Psalm? Why? Who is the One Who David passionately loves? How does David describe the LORD? What metaphors does David use for the LORD? 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. Point of Depth Two of the metaphors are translated as rock but they are actually two different ideas.